Stress–Strain Analysis of Rectangular Plates with a Variable Thickness and Constant Weight

The stress–strain state of rectangular plates with a variable thickness and constant weight is analyzed. The laws of variation in the thickness are specified to depend on parameters so that the plate weight remains constant for any of their values. To solve the problem, discrete Fourier series are used, which makes it possible to reduce a two-dimensional problem to one-dimensional. Calculation results are presented.     

Forecasting call frequency at a financial services call centre

A forecasting model is developed for the number of daily applications for loans at a financial services telephone call centre. The purpose of the forecasts and the associated prediction intervals is to provide effective staffing policies within the call centre. The model building process is constrained by the availability of only 2 years and 7 months of data. The distinctive feature of the data is that demand is driven in the main by advertising. The analysis given focuses on applications stimulated by press advertising. Unlike previous analyses of broadly similar data, where ARIMA models were used, a model with a dynamic level, multiplicative calendar effects and a multiplicative advertising response is developed and shown to be effective.     

Study of the charge-exchange reactions\pi ^ - p \to (\pi ^0 ,\eta ,\eta \prime )n at 63 GeV

Muon electron pairs were detected in an Al multiplate spark chamber, exposed to a neutrino beam from the CERN PS. The leptons were not accompanied by other particles, except occasionally by protons. The background came mainly from muon associated π⁰ production, with one decay gamma lost. It was determined empirically, together with the small contribution from υ _e reactions. For electron energies above 2 GeV the background is 5.7±1.5 events, whereas 18 (μe)-candidates have been observed. Hence the effect is established, with a rate of about 10^?4 as compared to the muonic reactions above 3 GeV. Charm creation as the origin of this (μe)-production process is excluded; heavy neutral lepton production does not fit the kinematics observed. Instead the events are compatible with the two-body decay of an object with variable invariant mass of order 1 GeV, possibly resulting from axion interactions.     

Some remarks on metaplectic cusp forms and the correspondences of Shimura and Waldspurger

The simple relation between representations of the covering groups of SL₂ and GL₂ makes it possible to fuse and extend the recent metaplectic results of Shimura, Waldspurger, Flicker, and ourselves. By giving a new (purely local andL-function theoretic) treatment of the Waldspurger-Shintani correspondence, we also simplify some of Waldspurger’s original results.     

Exploiting the diversity of time scales in the immune system: A B-cell antibody model

Using the continuous shape space formalism, we develop an immune system model involving both B lymphocytes and antibody molecules. The binding and cross-linking of receptors on B cells stimulates the cells to divide and, with a lag, to secrete antibody. Using the method of multiple scales, we show how to correctly formulate long-time-scale equations for the population dynamics of B cells, the total antibody concentration, and rate of antibody secretion. We compare our model with previous phenomenological formulations.     

Issues in Managing Information Technology

This paper describes three case studies which investigated issues relating to the implementation and management of advanced information technology. The benefits derived from information technology were found to vary from one organization to another. These studies provide further evidence to support earlier research findings that senior management has an important role to play in the effective exploitation of information technology, and that the investment approach taken by an organization has a significant effect on the development of computer-based information systems. The effectiveness of a system depends not only on applying the appropriate technology, but also on how successfully technical and behavioural issues are resolved.     

Schwinger boson mapping of SO(8) fermion model

The Schwinger representation of the SO(8) fermion pair algebra in terms ofd and quasispin vector (u, s, v) bosons is used in deriving a microscopic boson coherent state having both particle-hole and pair excitations. The coherent state is the exact boson image of the HFB variational solution. We can study the shape phase transition and pairing behaviour of the nuclear ground states using the coherent states.